1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shock absorber with a shock absorber body having a cylinder, a piston guided in a movable fashion in a receiving space of the cylinder, when the piston is moved an air pressure generated in the receiving space exerts a braking force that acts on the piston, and for air pressure reduction, the receiving space has at least one opening that produces an air-carrying connection between the receiving space and the environment.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A shock absorber is taught by German Patent Reference DE 20 107 426 U1, and uses a shock absorber body equipped with a cylinder. The cylinder encompasses a receiving space in which a piston is guided in a movable fashion. Extending from the receiving space of the cylinder, a bore leads into the piston bottom. The bore is connected to a cross bore.
This produces an air-carrying connection between the receiving space and the environment. A spring and a ball are inserted into the bore to produce a check valve. In order to secure the ball in captive fashion, the bore is tapped with an internal thread into which a screw is tightened. The screw has a sealing seat against which the ball rests in a sealing fashion. Downstream from the sealing seat, the screw contains a through bore. When the piston is traveling inward, an excess pressure is generated in the receiving space. A ball thus moves in the bore until air can escape into the environment through the cross bore. Once the pressure difference is balanced, then the ball closes the air-carrying connection again.
This known shock absorber is encumbered by a complex design with many parts. In addition, it does not achieve a satisfactory damping action. As soon as the ball lifts away from the sealing seat in the presence of an excess pressure, an abrupt pressure drop occurs. With shock absorbers used in furniture construction, however, a delayed pressure decrease is required for an optimum shock absorbing action. Due to production tolerances or temperature fluctuations, it is not possible to uniformly determine the lift-off time of the ball.